Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed up to receive therapy through the Sondermind online portal and was presented with an initial price of $39.27 per session, which I felt was a fair price to pay. Following two sessions, I received my first of two updated fees, which added $91.63 to each session, resulting in the per session change being $130.90, a per session fee I felt was not an amount I was willing to pay. I requested a one-time waiver of the two $91.63 additional charges, which was denied. I believe the addition of the two additional fees AFTER having already having two sessions amounts to a bait and switch and I am simply seeking waivers of these fees, which were not clearly presented to me prior to having my two sessions.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2024

  All of our potential clients are provided an estimated cost upon sign up, however, we always advise clients to verify their benefits directly with their insurance plan before proceeding. This is also stated in the Financial Responsibility Agreement clients are required to sign upon sign up. Per their insurance, these charges are valid and determined to be processed towards the clients deductible.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/02/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I found Sondermind through ***************** provider portal. I called and they set me up with a therapist they said was in-network with *** and provider verified *** was in-network. Claims were processed as out-of-network by *** and when I inquired with my therapist she told me to take it up with Sondermind and Sondermind told me they didnt have a billing department to speak to and told me to file an online inquiry. I did and was told I would have a respons in ***** hours. A week later with no response I called their therapist hotline and complained until they told me they would have someone expedite. An email came that said I would get a resolution in ***** business days. It has been 20 so I called again and they again said they would send it along. They again told me there was no one I could talk to.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2024

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We apologize for the delay in communication. Our response times are still being impacted by the nationwide CHC outage from earlier this year. We resubmitted these claims to insurance, and the client was refunded and notified on 10/2/2024.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/25/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My VA insurance did not renew my referral on time, not a problem I got that handled. Due to this I lost access to my therapy account at the end of aug. I contacted the company stating technical issues still occurring (not being able to log in) on 9/16. I didn't hear anything and missed an appointment with my therapist. I then submitted a second ticket on 9/20 and haven't heard anything. I then tired today 9/25 to submit a third ticket and got flagged for spam. ******** -9/16 ******** -9/20

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2024

  The account was disabled due to an expired VA referral. We've received the new referral and the clients account was re-enabled on 9/25. We notified the client of this the same day.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 22337589
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  While they finally unlocked my account, it took over a month and me complaining to you, the BBB, to get anything done or elicit a response from them.  Then I get an email from the business telling me that there is no way the issue i had could happen (see attached).  I can absolutely guarantee that my complain was marked as spam, hence why I submitted a ticket with the BBB.  I included the two ticket numbers i was able to create, and upon trying to make a third because they refused to get back to me, it said it was spam and wouldn't let me create a third ticket.  Needless to say, I will be looking for a new therapy provider after this incident.  It is unacceptable that it takes this to get a response from the company especially with the services said company provides.  Their failure to communicate, unlock my account, and gaslighting me by telling me that what happened didn't/couldn't happen should be investigated as it could cost lives.  

  I say this because I have seen it happen.  My Friend ****** *******, who took his own life in 2019, after his therapist canceled on him for a third time.  Please feel free to ****** the name, the 5 year anniversary of his death is in 7 days. So don't try to tell me you did everything and worked the ticket.  I waited from Aug 22 when my account was turned off, ensured the new referral was in, gave ample time to get my account up yet nothing happened by Sept 16th when i submitted a ticket.  Now here we are in Oct and the only thing that has happened is they have given me more anxiety.  I guess they are in the business of creating clients not actually helping them

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On September 10th I had my first therapy video session scheduled with ******* ******. When the time came (8:30 AM) I was unable to join the video call. Now I know that video chat programs can be finicky so I tried to join the call on two different browsers and my phone, both to no result. I then tried to contact ******* but still have not received a response to this, or my other messages for that matter. It was then listed that I had a previous session and forms to fill out regarding my feelings. I was not billed at this time though so I figured it was some kind of glitch and scheduled another session for Monday, September 10th, On the day of the session I messaged *******, inquiring if we were still good to go for 5:00 PM but nothing. Then the time came and previous events repeated, although I figured out I could call ******* and tried to do so, she did not pick up. I had also tried all the tips on the *** page. After this I began to worry about my information being on the site and tried to delete my account, but you have to do this through support. I went ahead and emailed support that I had not been able to join the last two sessions I was listed as having and have not been able to contact my therapist. I did receive an email back, "Hi ******, Thank you for contacting SonderMind. I do apologize for the delay we are experiencing higher than normal email volume. You should be able to join the session with no issue. If the issue continues when attempting to join please follow these troubleshooting tips:" This came with instructions I had already followed from the *** page. Then Friday I was notified I would be billed $85 on the 24th for my session on the 16th that I never had the ability to join. After reading other reports on this website about Sondermind, I fear this will not be the only attempted billing. I am covered by ********** Blue Shield so the fee is rather high too. I just don't want to be charged and to have my account deleted.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2024

  The client was charged a no-show fee for a session he had trouble accessing. Per policy, we shared the troubleshooting steps with the client. Then, we reached out to the provider to determine if they are willing to waive the no-show fee for the client. It is ultimately up to the providers discretion if they want to charge for no-shows. If the providers declines to charge the fee, we will waive this charge for the client.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/03/2024

   
  
  Complaint: 22321841
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I was charged on the 24th of September $85. This feels like fraud at this point, I was never able to contact my provider in the first place and it relies on her as to whether I get my money refunded? I am not going to be satisfied until I get this refunded because there was literally no way for me to be able to join the session. Why was she able to accept my appointments but then never respond to a single message or email / phone call I sent? 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Trevor Samons

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/08/2024

  Since we have not heard back from the provider, we are refunding the client.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/17/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started seeking care from Sondermind believing that all I would be paying was the $35 copay because that's what was advertised. They pulled me in thinking that's all I would be paying and that my insurance was accepted. I only had 12 video sessions which I paid the $35 for each session so $420 in total already. My first session was 12/17/2023 last session being 3/12/2024. Starting 7/29/24 I started getting charges $57.54, then on 8/20/2024 $*****, 8/27/24 *****, 9/03/24 $*****, 9/12/2024 $*****. No warnings, no receipts, no remaining balances sent to me. They have overdrawn my account multiple times now with no warnings from them I emailed them multiple times about this with no answer. I have also asked them to take my card off of my account so they could stop overdrawing it with no answer. They did close my account so now I can't even log in to see anything. They finally emailed me back on September 10th with a receipt. So now I have paid them $745.78 altogether and they are still trying to pull money out of my account as of 9/16/24 another transaction tried to go through for another $***** but since they have already over **** my account it can't go through. The therapist was not even able to help me with anything and just kept asking me the same questions or only trying to focus on one thing and I feel this whole company is a sham. They won't even tell you what you really owe and falsely advertise that you will only pay the copay.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/23/2024

  HIPAA attached

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2024

  The charges on the clients account are accurate. Upon sign up, we always advise clients to verify their benefits directly with their insurance company before proceeding. We are only able to provide estimates but true charges are determined by insurance. These charges were determined by insurance to be applied towards a deductible. We have reached out to the client to offer a payment plan and advised them to contact insurance if they feel this is incorrect. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/04/2024

   
  
  Complaint: 22296892
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  They made all these advertisements stating we would only pay $30. False advertisement. Then they stopped sending me emails to warn me when they were pulling the funds out which I let them know more than once and they wouldn't respond and they kept doing it which overdrafted my account multiple times. Poor business. I was also never sent different payment options as they mentioned in this email and they refuse to pull my card off my account. 

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Elizabeth Reed

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/16/2024

  I do not have any proof of this. It looks like they completely changed their website because I'm assuming they have had a lot of complaints on this false advertisement. I saw it on Tik Tok and Facebook and it looks like they completely cleared it off of there as well. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/14/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sondermind is invoicing me for a "no show" for which I never scheduled an appt nor was I contacted to confirm the alleged "no show" appt within the acceptable cancellation window to allow for cancellation of the appointment I did not wish to attend. I did not wish to continue care with the provider they have matched me with. we were not a good match, and the provider was completely incompetent as far as being able to treat my concerns, and that was made apparent within the initial session. I canceled any subsequent sessions scheduled on my behalf immediately and was not contacted to inform me further sessions have been scheduled on my behalf without my knowledge and no appointment confirmation which is customary of any office dealing with hourly appointments such Medical etc. I've contacted them when I noticed I was being billed $75 for a no-show appointment 3 weeks before the bill was late. I did not receive a response I contacted again prior to the invoice showing as late. again no response. finally receive response after 4th attempt irrelevant to concern, then received no response. again using only method of contact provided thru website. found phone number on ******, told my **** access restored to allow access to sessions. one month and one week I know attempt to access my therapy session scheduled and am denied access due to this issue. I have now effectively been locked out of my 100% covered mental health care by sondermind for one month & one week due to an issue that I have been in constant contact with them regarding and have filed them appeal to remove the no-show that is not accurate. now I can't join my session, 5 weeks my access to all of my mental health care has been suspended which would otherwise be 100% covered by my insurance. this is beyond irresponsible and downright haphazard and I will seek legal action to address this. it is a weekend and no one is available at thundermind to address and unlock my account to attend my session!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/24/2024

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our response times are delayed due to ongoing disruptions caused by the *** outage earlier this year.
  
  Ultimately, it is up to the providers discretion whether or not to charge a no show fee. We have requested information from the client to support their complaints and contacted the provider to determine if theyre willing to waive the claim.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/14/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Jun 7th, I had a therapy session with Sondermind. Instead of billing my health insurance, they deducted it from my bank account. I have tried several times to have the amount refunded, but I am getting excuses, such as my insurance has to be verified, which they have had plenty of time to do. I have put in several inquiries, but I never receive any response from anyone.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/24/2024

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Upon further inspection, it appears that the clients insurance was not uploaded properly upon sign up, causing claims to be submitted as self pay. We resolved this, and the claims have been resubmitted to insurance and are currently being processed. Weve already refunded one date of service, however the client disputed the second charge with their bank. We are unable to refund until the dispute is resolved. We have contacted our billing team to review the dispute and will update the client accordingly.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/28/2024

   
  Complaint: 22285826
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I still have not received a refund for the past charge in June
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2024

  The clients refund was effective 9/27/2024. The client confirmed seeing the refund pending in their account on 10/1/2024.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/13/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have had 7 sessions with a therapist, but have been overcharged or charged incorrectly. The therapist I see takes my insurance (Aetna), so I should not be charged the therapists full fee. In addition, my therapist said that her fee is $100 per hour and the listed charge by Sondermind is $122.27. I do not remember being told that I would be charged a fee for using Sondermind. The business replied to my message (sent through their portal) from July 9, July 12, and said they would adjust the payments, which they did for July 17 & 24, but did not explain the charges and did not adjust for or explain the charges for the July 8 session, so I am still not sure if I was charged correctly. My insurance EOB states $122.27 as the billed amount, but the therapist fee is $100 per hour. They did not reply to the message I sent through their website portal on Aug. 27, 2024.I received an email today, September 13, 2024, stating that my billing method failed. It is a ************** card and possibly has no more funds on itlikely because of Sonderminds overcharging. I believe I have paid all that I owe and that Sondermind owes me a partial refund for three of my sessions (Jul. 8, Aug. 2, Aug. 14) and an adjustment for two of them (Aug. 7 and the upcoming charge for Aug. 28).Dates of transactions & charges: Jul. 8, 2024 / $75.77 Jul. 17, 2024 / $24.45 Jul. 24, 2024 / $24.45 Aug. 2, 2024 / $122. 27 Aug. 14, 2024 / $122. 27 Current, pending charges: Aug. 7, 2024 / $122. 27 Aug. 28, 2024 / no bill yet

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/24/2024

  Per the clients insurance, the client has a deductible that needs to be met before coverage. The therapist fee does not apply as that is their individual fee, these claims are processed through insurance and SM pays the provider. We have pushed the charges out to allow the client time to contact insurance and offered a payment plan. We notified the client of all of this information on 9/22/2024 who advised they will contact insurance.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/25/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sondermind stopped my therapy sessions saying that the copay payment was required for my sessions to continue. I knew that it was free with my insurance, but they still wanted my money. My insurance processed the claims and gave ***'s stating the services were $0 after I was forced to pay. I have tried to reach customer service and waited weeks for an automated email that did nothing. They have no real phone number or customer service that works. I paid throught Instamed, which told me only sonder mind can help **** have the receipts, EOB's, and an email from Instamed. I need a refund on my overpaid claims.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2024

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention and for your patience as we work through delayed response times due to the *** outage. The charges on the clients account are an estimated copay. They paid through a third party service and provided proof of payment, so we have refunded the client.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/02/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Shaenoa Vezoli ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/10/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sondermind has charged for counseling sessions that are completely covered by insurance. Believe Sondermind stated that is was a user error by the provider. We have made several attempts via email to resolve the issue without response since May. Sondermind does not have an option to speak to someone regarding billing.Our records show that Sondermind is collecting insurance and not reimbursing us.Our child is the patient and will provide his name upon request. Our account could be found by last name and address (provided on previous screen).Attached history of charges and the rare reimbursements.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/13/2024

  Attached is the requested form. Thank you again for your help in this matter.
  
  **** *******
  

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2024

  Thanks for bringing this to our attention. The client's provider continued to bill their claims as self pay. We resubmitted the eligible claims, and refunds have been initiated. We also sent the remaining claims to our billing team to resubmit and have canceled the pending charges.
  
  Best,
  SonderMind

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/24/2024

  Doesn't seem that Sondermind is on track to resolve this issue. We received an email on the 20th alerting us to upcoming charges. Email is attached.
  We are willing to have a phone conversation with Sondermind if that is helpful.
  
  Thank you so much for your assistance.
  
  **** *******
  

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/26/2024

  The latest notification is for additional charges due to the insurance deeming client responsible for copay. These charges are accurate and the client has been notified.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/26/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  Thank you so much for advocating. My wife and I tried to resolve this issue ourselves over a span of a couple of months. Sondermind would not respond to our emails nor do they have a phone number that is answered.

  Your influence helped tremenously. 

  I would not say that the issue is closed but we do have a direct dialogue going with ******** at Sondermind. We are in a better spot than before. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******